Relief
by Norah Rose
Summary: A very short fic written after Point Of No Return. This is what I imagine Dean was feeling about Castiel after the episode.


**Author's Note: Hey everyone! First off, how AWESOMELY AWESOME was Point of no Return?!?! I seriously loved every bit of it. Especially all the Dean and Cas moments! This is just my own little reaction to the episode. It's a rather chick-flicky look at how I imagine Dean felt after the episode. Oh, and I guess Sam's one sleepy dude in my head. LOL. What can I say? I enjoy writing for Dean and Cas. Enjoy!**

Dean Winchester sat behind the wheel of the Impala. Sam was dozing comfortably beside him. There was still no sign of Castiel, and honestly, Dean couldn't have been more worried.

He had walked into the old warehouse expecting to see Castiel peering at him with those unbelievably blue eyes. Sure, he might be a little beat up, but he would be fine. Castiel was always fine.

But when Dean entered the room, Cas wasn't there. There was one dead angel and nothing else. Dean brushed this off and decided that Cas was just pulling his normal disappearing act. At the time, Dean really couldn't think of all the terrible possibilities that he considered now.

Dean was still sure that the angel was alright though. Right? After all, Cas was tough. He'd be fine. Maybe he was just hurt and went to chill somewhere. Or maybe he was just mad at Dean. It didn't matter. Wherever he was, he was fine. He had to be fine.

But Dean couldn't ignore the fact that maybe, just maybe, something was wrong. Even for Cas, who is, let's face it, really badass, 5 angels was a lot to take on. And he had said himself that it could've been a suicide mission. Dean pushed his foot farther down on the gas.

He had lost enough. He couldn't lose Castiel too. Sure, they hadn't left on the best terms, but that was to be expected. And really, Dean didn't blame Cas for not having the faith that Sammy had in him. Hell, Dean didn't even have that much faith in himself.

Dean already felt guilty though. If something had happened to Cas, he didn't know what he would do. It would obviously be his fault, and Dean didn't know if he could deal with that. Especially on top of all the other crap he had to deal with.

"I gave everything for you." Castiel's words still rang crystal clear through Dean's head. He had given everything for Dean, and what had Dean done for him? Tried to throw everything away, and now, maybe even gotten him killed…

Dean shook his head. No. No he couldn't think about that. It wasn't true. It simply couldn't be true.

Dean glanced at Sam, still sleeping beside him. It was funny really. Dean hadn't known Castiel for long at all, but he really felt like his brother was missing. Losing Cas would just like losing family. Hell, it might even be worse in some ways.

They had, after all, been through much together. And even though Dean would never, ever, in a freakin' million years admit it, he relied on Castiel as _his _angel.

As cheesy as that sounded, it was the truth. When things were going wrong and Sam and Bobby were both out of ideas, Castiel had a plan. Cas was the voice of reason, and without him, they were screwed.

Dean had called Castiel more times than he could count. He had even prayed for him, because Cas seemed to respond to people loudly praying. But after all Dean's attempts, there was still no word from Cas.

Dean pulled to the side of the road, for one last attempt at contacting Cas. He didn't wanna look like such a pansy in front of Sam, so when he stepped out of the Impala, he shut the door and took several steps away from the car.

"Cas… I, uh, can we talk? I mean… are you alright, Cas?" Dean asked, quietly. He still felt awkward "praying".

When he heard no flutter of wings, Dean tried again. "Castiel. I need to know that you're alright. Look, I don't know if you're pissed or what, but please, just poof your ass down here and talk to me." He said, louder this time.

When Castiel still didn't appear, Dean started back towards the car. He was sure of it now. Cas was gone. He had to be. As mad as he might have been, he wouldn't have ignored all this.

Tears slowly filled Dean's eyes. At least Sammy was asleep. Dean needed some time.

As he opened the door to the Impala, Dean heard a small voice behind him.

"Dean?"

Dean turned around slowly. He saw Castiel, standing weakly behind him. He was struggling to stay on his feet. He gave Dean the smallest smile before his knees buckled and he fell to the ground.

Dean rushed over and slung his arm under Castiel's shoulder. "Whoa, Cas." He mumbled, pulling him up.

Castiel's shirt was ripped open and bloody. Dean actually felt a bit uncomfortable with his body so close to Castiel's chest.

"What the hell happened to you?" Dean asked.

"Doesn't matter." Cas mumbled back, his voice barely a whisper. "I am here. Dean, I am sorry." He said solemnly, still struggling to stand.

"Cas, don't even worry about it. We can talk about this later. We need to get you to a motel or somethin'. Come on." He said and took a tentative step with Cas.

Castiel walked slowly with him, still leaning to Dean for support.

"Thank you." Castiel said, quietly, looking at Dean.

Dean just smiled back at him. He felt a tremendous amount of relief.


End file.
